What Grows In Darkness
by angrbodagiantess
Summary: Pre-Thor. Thor and Loki discover a strange old house in the middle of nowhere. Whump, bromance and creepiness. Halloween special, but not related to Halloween.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Here's a Halloween story for you guys! Pre-_Thor_ with the usual Loki-whump, brotherly banter an' all that stuff you guys seem to like. ;) Only been working on it the last couple weeks so I hope it's not horrible, although I'll be happy if it's at least a little creepy. There are three chapters (not including this prologue). I'll try to post the next update soon since this prologue is so short (likely today). _Obviously_, I recommend reading this in the middle of the night with all the lights off, heee; you know you want to.**

**_Rated T for: _blood mostly, minor violence, but the rest is highly subjective as far as how disturbing it is. If you can watch Hitchcock you're probably fine.**

**Have spooooky fun! (Yes, I'm lame.)**

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><p><em><strong>What Grows In Darkness<strong>_

**Prologue**

The man looked out the window, peaking through the heavy curtains as his nervous eyes twitched to and fro, searching for something. Something in the dark. He stepped away for a moment, only to rush to another window and repeat the same frantic searching. His hand unconsciously went to touch something on his chest, beneath his clothing.

Hearing something creak behind him, he whipped around and pushed his back against the cold window.

_No not yet, not yet!_ the man's mind screamed. Nothing could touch him, not now. _No, not now._

Everywhere he looked was darkness; where had all the lights gone? Oh yes, he had let them all burn out, hadn't he? Scurrying over to the nearest lantern, he checked it for fuel. With shaking hands, he lit it after several tries. He sighed at the dim comfort, even if he knew it would make no difference.

Carrying the lantern in his right hand, he squinted his eyes at the vast room. It wouldn't matter, they would find him. Eventually they would.

Another creaking noise at the top of the stairs to his left made him turn, just as a small toy ball began to clatter down the steps. Slow at first, then picking up speed as it bounded down. The man choked on a whimper as he watched it with wide eyes, then, when it bounced against the window across from the base of the stairs, he couldn't take it anymore; with a yelp he ran from the room, heedless of his direction.

He closed the door behind, then gasped when he realized he'd entered the games room. _No..._ His heart beat restlessly in his chest as he looked about. It was quiet, no sign of movement. Then, out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw movement- he didn't care what it could be, he rushed to the other side of the room and clung to the wall.

_No not yet..._

He shut his eyes and didn't- _couldn't_ look. He held tightly to the lantern but its light now gave little comfort. He held his eyes closed and his head hurt from the strain, but he didn't dare open them. Holding his breath next, he heard something... something on the other side of the room, something..._sliding_, sliding across the floor toward him.

_No no no._

It drew closer.

He wanted to open his eyes but he couldn't!

Only a few paces away now, but it was impossible!

The wood creaked only one step away from him and he couldn't help it- he opened his eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: As promised, here's chapter one. **

**I should probably mention that Thor doesn't have Mjolnir just yet.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Brother...brother!" Loki called out to Thor, trying to stop him from running ahead through the thick brush. This forest was too tight, too dense, too _dark_; he didn't want to get lost. Not that he'd admit it.

As the younger prince of Asgard ran a little quicker, he all but ran into the solid back of his elder brother.

"Thor-!" Loki protested, nearly falling backward. But Thor was staring ahead, not turning around. Eyeing him, Loki felt a twinge of uneasiness at his normally boisterous brother's silence. But the other soon turned his head to look at the younger for a moment, speaking in nearly a whisper.

"Loki..." There was a slight excitement on the thunderer's face, and something else Loki couldn't identify.

Straightening himself, Loki pushed up beside his brother and saw what had Thor so mesmerized. _What is _wrong_ with him?_

"This, Thor? _This _is why you stopped?" Before them stood an enormous house. It was odd, yes, but hardly a reason to get _excited_ over, Loki thought.

"And what?" Thor sounded slightly defensive. "Why is there a house in the middle of these woods?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "How in Helheim should I know? The Vanir are a strange enough people; who knows why they do anything?"

Thor gave him a reproving look. "Lady Freyja is Vanir, as is her brother. And they are not _strange_-"

"I fail to see why this is a topic of conversation at all, Thor. When are we going home?" Loki didn't like this house for some reason, it was...strange. He too wondered why there was a house in the middle of these forsaken woods but he wasn't in the mood to investigate. At least not until he'd had something to eat- not to mention he was tired, and more so of hiking through wilderness. Thor had a tendency to forget not everyone was like him, not everyone could run for days without tiring, or fight until he'd seen the sun rise and set several times, or swim without a care through shark-infested waters.

The thunderer smiled. "What's wrong, brother? Frightened?"

Again, Loki rolled his eyes. "I'm _tired_, Thor. _When are we going home?_" he repeated with emphasis.

"Soon."

"_When_ soon? The Bifrost site is half a day's walk in the _other_ direction, we should head back now-"

"Nay, brother, I wish to see what this house is about," Thor interrupted cheerily. Loki narrowed his eyes at him but the idiot didn't seem to notice. "And besides, there's a light on."

Head snapping forward, Loki squinted through the darkness. "What-?" Looking closer, he too saw a light- a very small, dim light -on one of the upper floors. "Fine. There's a light. Can we go now?"

But Thor was already walking ahead, completely ignoring the other.

Loki growled in frustration and started after his brother. "What are you _doing_? We can't just approach strange houses in the middle of nowhere and demand to be let in. We might be princes but we're not princes of _this _realm, or have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten," Thor answered easily. His eyes roved the front of the house as he walked slowly, clearly in no hurry.

Sighing loudly, and knowing he couldn't dissuade his stubborn brother, Loki matched Thor's gait and followed along. He looked behind them, wondering if he might be able to make it back to Asgard himself... But the sun had gone down and it was so dark, and suddenly the prospect of braving the strange and too-dense forest seemed an insurmountable task. He could barely even make out the trees. Shuddering, Loki returned his eyes forward.

"Cold, brother?"

"Shut up," murmured Loki, his eyes taking in the gray stone before him. It was an old house, probably centuries old. The Vanir hadn't used this architectural design in quite some time and the prince wondered who could be living in such an old house. No doubt it was some old crone ready to poke their eyes out for trespassing. It wouldn't be the first time.

Many windows adorned the front, but they were all veiled. The window with the light was veiled, which meant the light was likely near the window.

Thor approached the door, and before Loki could stop him, he banged on the hard wood, causing the other to flinch.

"What are you doing, Thor?! They could be asleep!"

"At this hour? Unlikely."

Loki frowned in annoyance. "You don't know that. For all we know forest-dwellers sleep when the sun sleeps." Thor shrugged and knocked loudly again; Loki winced at the sound. It seemed far too loud in this quiet forest.

"Would you stop _worrying_, Loki? You sound like mother."

"Yes, because mother has some sense, unlike somebody I know."

"Don't insult father like that."

"You know well enough I don't mean_ him_..." Loki trailed off when the heavy door began to open, slowly, the hard wood creaking as it moved. Nothing but darkness could be seen inside. The prince swallowed.

"Hello?" Thor all but shouted into the house as Loki nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Shut _up_, you idiot!" Loki whispered- or at least tried to. "Doors don't just open all their own..." The door had completely opened. He swallowed again. None of this seemed remotely normal.

Thor looked at him, as if to say, 'Settle down, little brother' then turned to shout again, but Loki stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"This is too strange," said Loki with worry growing. "We should go. _Now_." But Thor continued to give him his 'big brother look' so Loki added, "_Please._ I just want to go home."

Thor rolled his eyes but seemed to deflate, shoulders sagging. "Very well, little brother. Although I don't know what you're so worried about-"

"Who goes there," said a man's voice from somewhere in the darkened house.

On pure instinct, Loki jumped closer to Thor. He wasn't afraid of being hurt, but there was something _unnatural_ going on here and he wasn't curious enough to get caught up in whatever it was. Everything about this place made his hackles stand on end. He wanted out.

"Who goes _there_?" Thor countered. Loki stayed silent, his wide eyes searching the inside of the house.

After several moments passed, a man with a lantern in his right hand appeared from a room at the far end of the large foyer. He turned around and fiddled with the door before turning back to them. He had black hair that was graying around the edges, and a long, dark brown coat which had seen better days. His face was pale and haggard.

"The owner of this home," he responded. "Who are you?" Strangely, his voice had a tremor to it. Loki thought it odd. Then he realized perhaps this man was as frightened as he, given that there were strangers knocking on his door in the middle of the night. For some reason this knowledge made Loki feel better. Slowly, he stepped out from behind his brother.

"Sir," Loki spoke up before Thor could frighten the poor man further, "we apologize for interrupting your evening. I am Loki, and this is my brother Thor." He didn't name them _princes_ as there was no point.

The man hesitated and squinted. "Thor..." His demeanor shifted; less wary but still not trusting. "Thor? You...you are the princes of Asgard..." he trailed off.

"Yes," affirmed Loki. _So he does know who we are. _The trickster tried for a smile and bowed his head in greeting. Thor didn't bother. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir..?"

"Oh," the man seemed flustered. "I have no notable rank, Your Highness. My name is Grimur." He stared for a long while at Loki- to which the prince shifted on his feet -but he snapped his gaze away only a moment later. He scratched at something on his chest.

Loki nodded. "Grimur..." he murmured. There was something strange about this man. Despite introductions, he wouldn't come closer. Of course, he had no reason to believe them, perhaps he was simply being cautious?

Thor finally spoke up. "Warm greetings to you, Grimur. Is there anyone else here?"

Loki hissed at Thor, and said under his breath, "Don't interrogate a man in his own home, Thor. What's wrong with you? Mother wouldn't approve."

"Mother isn't here." Thor smiled at him. Loki sighed. Thor wasn't _incapable _of proper etiquette, he simply didn't use it on everybody. Not that Loki always did, either.

"Eh," mumbled Grimur. "Th-There is no one else. Only me. But," he paused for a moment, then said, "but my apologies, dear princes." He suddenly approached and they could see the man smiling. "Please, please come in. I'm afraid you've caught me by surprise; I wasn't expecting anyone at this time of night."

"Do you ever?" mumbled Thor under his breath as he looked around the vast room. The man had heard him, though, as he chuckled.

"No, you are right, of course. I do not get many visitors. Please," he closed the door behind them, "make yourselves at home. I understand Aesir custom holds hospitality in the highest regard; I shall try my best to live up to that standard." He continued to smile at them.

"There's truly no need," Loki spoke up, "your people's customs will suffice-" but Thor took a small step forward with a hand against the younger's chest.

"And we would be truly grateful for that hospitality, good Grimur," Thor said over him. Annoyed, Loki pushed Thor's hand away.

"_Thor_," Loki said under his breath, "may I speak with you a moment?" Thor's eyebrows rose. "In private?" And looking to Grimur, he said, "My apologies, Grimur." The man nodded, his face expressionless.

Thor sighed in annoyance but followed Loki as he walked a few steps away, toward the door. "_What_, little brother."

"Don't _little brother_ me. You can't possibly be thinking of _staying_ here? What purpose would that serve?"

The elder shrugged. "You said it yourself. You are tired. Here is as good a place as any to settle for the night- in fact, better. Unless you _like_ sleeping on the hard ground."

Oh, of course. _Of course_ Thor would throw _that_ back into his face. He complains- _justifiably_, Loki thinks -about having to sleep_ outside_, and Thor suddenly thinks he'd rather never do it again. _Typical_. And even _if_ Loki did prefer to sleep indoors, what was wrong with that? There were all manner of _creatures_ out here that would crawl over him at night. It was...unsettling. Asgard had fewer creatures, why couldn't they go on adventures there?

Loki huffed and crossed his arms, not answering. Why should he? Thor had clearly made up his mind and there was no way Loki was returning alone, at least not until tomorrow.

_Oaf_.

Thor smiled and turned to their host. "We accept your offer of hospitality, Grimur."

_I hate you so much right now._ Loki tried to burn holes into Thor's back. Sadly, as ever, nothing happened.

.

Their rooms were next to each other, and Loki was relieved to learn- for what reason he wasn't sure -that Grimur's chambers were on the other side of the house. Their host had said as much when he assured them that, if they wanted for anything, to ask without hesitation. Thor had inquired as to why there were no servants in a house this size, and Grimur had answered, quite cryptically, that they had all left. He didn't explain further, and Thor had simply shrugged, accepting his explanation.

Loki's room was spacious but sparsely furnished; apparently Grimur hadn't had guests in quite some time. Unsurprising, given that Loki couldn't imagine anyone wanting to venture way out here. But surely the man had family? Friends? Or perhaps, for whatever reason, he had given the princes the _least_ desirable rooms- the man _was_ very strange, it wasn't a preposterous notion, especially as he wasn't Aesir and likely didn't care as much about treating guests with the highest regard.

Seeing the large bed, he set down his pack next to it and immediately flopped down on it, too weary to remove his clothing. He lay there a few moments, then realized he wouldn't be able to sleep properly wearing so many layers. With a tired groan he sat up, then began undoing the numerous buckles and ties that held the leathers together. Normally he would let the servants do it, but, alas, there were none present for that task. Once he reached the proper age, his mother would teach him how to remove his clothing with magic. It wasn't a matter of _ability_, unfortunately, but rather age. It didn't matter that Loki might be able to do it at his current age, the Aesir had strict rules about teaching certain things until the 'proper' age, because apparently one could hurt oneself if not sufficiently prepared... Or some such nonsense his tutors were always on about. Thor had been taught not two years past- and he, not even adept at magic! It annoyed Loki to no end. His big brother was an _idiot_; if he could be taught, Loki _certainly_ could learn, and much easier, probably.

He removed everything except his dark undershirt and trousers, and set his boots beside the bed, next to his pack.

Fortunately, Grimur had had enough sense to light his guests' hearths, but the man had neglected to feed them! No matter, Loki was too tired to eat anyway. He plopped back down, then, a moment later, fell fast asleep.

.

It was a low thudding against his wall that woke the trickster. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, still halfway asleep, but when something thudded again, his lids flew open. _What is that idiot brother of mine doing?_ And when it happened a _third_ time, Loki yelled, "Stop that, I'm trying to sleep!"

That seemed to make Thor stop as there was silence. But, only fifteen minutes later, it started up again. And _continuously._

"Norns dammit, Thor! What is wrong with you?!" Loki rolled on his side and covered his ears with a pillow, but the sound reverberated through the wall and into his body.

When it didn't stop, Loki threw the covers off and sat up. But before he could jump out of bed and out the door to berate his brother, the sound stopped. Loki narrowed his eyes and waited, one leg dangling off the side.

Silence.

Nothing happened for several minutes. Perhaps his brother had stopped?

When his leg began to feel cold, he moved to pull it back, only to feel something brush up against his leg. For some reason, he thought it fell like hair. His heart leaped a moment, but then he remembered he'd left his boots and pack there; that was all it was. Sighing and settling back down into the warm covers, Loki once again fell into sleep.

.

In the morning, Loki walked into the room next to his, but he didn't find Thor. His bed was made- which was strange, Thor didn't even know how to -and his pack was nowhere in sight. _Hm, strange_, thought Loki. Perhaps his brother had already packed up and was ready to leave? He could only hope. Still, Loki was still tired for some reason, and he hadn't quite woken up yet, so he opted to get some breakfast first and perhaps a bath- if it was possible -then leave.

Trudging down the hallway, he couldn't help but notice how dark it was still. Did that man never open his curtains? Yet still, when Loki drew one of the curtains aside, he found it still dark outside. That wasn't right, he was certain it was daytime. And where was Thor if it was still night?

Walking down the steps to the foyer, Loki called, "Thor? Grimur?" Nobody answered. "Brother? Are we leaving now, isn't it still night?" The room that Grimur had exited when he first appeared- which was across from the front door -was locked, so Loki tried the open door beneath the stairs. It was a dining room, and to the right, the kitchen. _Where is everybody?_ Walking briskly through the house, Loki felt a twinge of panic. _Where is Thor? Where is my brother?_ He wouldn't leave him- he wouldn't. And where was the house's owner?

Trying the door across from the dining room's, he entered some sort of games room. Loki nearly knocked over some sort of table with a checkered board on it when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. There was a man standing in a corner, hidden in shadows.

"Who's there?" Loki asked with trembling voice; he couldn't help it. "G-Grimur?"

Slowly, the man turned. It indeed was Grimur, but...he was smiling. Smiling widely. And in his hand he held a large knife. "Did you find your brother, dear prince?" he asked as he continued to smile.

"W-What? Where is Thor?"

Grimur began to approach, knife still in hand, smile set. "Your brother, yes. He's gone, isn't he? He's gone away."

Backing away, Loki felt his chest tighten. "No...no, he wouldn't leave me. He's- he's still here somewhere. Thor!"

The man continued to approach, and, for whatever reason, instead of _fighting_ as he should have, Loki turned to run. But when he did he found the door gone. The windows, all of them, gone.

"No! Let me out!"

His foot caught on something. When he turned around, Grimur was gone, but there was something...some _person_ attached to his leg, someone with long, unkempt dark hair, face down, clawed fingers bruising his ankle.

Panicking, Loki tried to pull away but he couldn't. Then, he suddenly found Grimur's knife in his own hand. Fear welling up, and without hesitation, Loki swung down to strike at the strange creature.

.

With a sharp gasp Loki sat up in bed. Breathing harshly, he felt as though he couldn't fill his lungs enough with breath. Looking about, he found himself back in the guest room, his clothes sweaty and sticking to him under the covers.

_It was...just a..._ But it didn't feel like it. Shaking himself, he drew his legs up to his chest and sat for a moment, just _breathing_.

The fire in his hearth had gone out long ago, and he trembled with the cold. That was strange, he rarely felt cold.

Even with the curtains blocking the daylight, there was enough that he could make out the outlines of the furniture. Lighting some candles on the other side of the room, he slipped on his boots and, shivering slightly, he pulled one of the blankets around his shoulders.

Although he knew he should probably ready himself for the day- there was a bowl of water on the small table beside his bed -the memories of the dream urged him to seek out his brother. It was silly, he knew, a child's fear, but it had felt so _real_. He couldn't shake the feeling of abandonment.

Shutting the door lightly in case his brother was still sleeping- _which is not a courtesy my brother is capable of, apparently_ -he moved to knock on Thor's door.

"Brother?" Loki whispered as he rapped on the hard wood. "Are you awake?" Thinking the thunderer wouldn't be able to hear such light tapping, he knocked more properly. "Thor? Can I come in? It's Loki." _Stupid. Who else would it be?_ Yet, there was still no answer. Feeling a slight twinge of worry, Loki knocked a third time. "Brother? Please, can I come in? I just want to..." _Just what?_ _See you?_ How like a child he sounded. But when Thor still didn't answer, Loki couldn't help his rising panic; he desperately grabbed for the handle and, with some effort- why was the door stuck? -he wrenched the door open.

There was no one in the room. The bed had nothing on it, no mattress, it was just a wooden frame, like a skeleton bereft of flesh. The room was cold and silent, as if there had never been anyone here in the first place. As if _Thor_ hadn't been here. But...Loki had _seen_ him enter- how was this possible?

Remembering his dream, Loki felt tears itching at the backs of his eyes. _Where is my brother?_

"What are you doing?"

Loki whipped around with a startled cry, only to nearly collapse at the sight of his brother standing there with a bemused, and slightly amused, look on his face. "Thor!" Loki almost embraced him, but caught himself at the last moment. "Where _were_ you? Why- why aren't you in your room?"

Thor looked in the room as if confused, then answered, "That room had an odd odor to it; Grimur offered the room across from yours instead. What were you doing? You look..." As Loki hadn't schooled his features to something more normal, Thor stepped up to him with slight concern on his face. "Were you...worried that I had gone?"

Blinking himself back, Loki shook his head, perhaps too adamantly. "No. No, of course not. I know you would never..." He glanced back at the room, then felt a shudder run through him. "When did you change rooms?"

"Almost immediately."

_But_... Loki stared into the room, then suddenly felt vulnerable standing there and moved- hopefully inconspicuously -nearer to Thor. "But I heard noises."

"Noises?"

"In the middle of the night," Loki all but whispered. "I heard noises."

The clap of Thor's hand on his shoulder made him jump. Thor chuckled. "This is an old house, Loki. It makes noise."

"_No_," Loki insisted, eyes wide. "There was...thumping, _loudly_, on my wall in the middle of the night. I thought it was you; I yelled."

Thor chuckled. "I heard. I wondered what you were doing; I couldn't make out your words."

"Did you...hear the sounds?"

"I heard nothing except my little brother making a fuss about something."

Loki glared at him. "You would make a fuss, too, if you heard loud thumping in the middle of the night. What...what could it be?"

"I don't know," Thor shrugged.

"There's _nobody in this room_, Thor. Why would I hear such noises, then?"

Again, the thunderer shrugged. "Perhaps it was Grimur."

"What in the realms could he be doing with that _empty_ room in the dead of night?"

Thor sighed. "I don't care, Loki. I'm hungry. Let's just go down and ask him, hm?"

Loki was hungry, too, very hungry. And Thor was right, he could simply ask the man. He was very strange, after all, perhaps an odd man such as he would have some reason for skulking about in the middle of the night and banging on his own walls- even if his _guests_ wouldn't like it.

.

The kitchen was, strangely, just where Loki had dreamed it would be. But how was that possible? He'd never been there before.

Thor led the way, shouting this way and that for their host. The idiot had no tact whatsoever. But the man startled them both when he appeared next to them from behind.

"Your Highnesses," Grimur greeted as he passed them and moved about the kitchen.

Thor nodded once. "Grimur. Good morrow to you."

The man nodded but didn't look at them as he rushed around the large room. Although Loki was loath to disrupt the man's work, he was also anxious to understand what had happened last night. He still remembered the strange man's ominous smile, the way his teeth and jaw set, as if in a grimace...

Fortunately, Thor beat him to it. "Good sir, my brother was wondering..."

"Yes?" He still didn't look at them.

"He was wondering if you were...doing anything in the room next to his- the one I vacated."

Grimur froze, halfway to grabbing something. Then, he seemed to relax as he grabbed a bowl. A fleeting smile formed. "I fell asleep the moment you were settled, Prince Thor. Why?" He continued with whatever he was doing.

Thor looked to Loki, apparently wondering if he'd like to comment. But Loki just couldn't make the words come out, so Thor continued, "He heard...thumping in the middle of the night."

Again, Grimur paused, but didn't stop for long. "Th-Thumping? How strange." He flashed an awkward smile. "This house is old, it makes many strange noises..."

"No," Loki finally spoke up. "No, these weren't normal _house noises_, this was something else. It was _loud_, and constant- at least for a time..." he trailed off. It sounded ludicrous. Perhaps he had been dreaming then? His dream had felt real enough.

"I don't know what to tell you, prince." He chuckled nervously and set down the bowl he had been mixing with a large spoon. "Breakfast will be ready soon." He smiled at them and gestured back toward the dining room.

Thor stood motionless for a moment, but he soon nodded and ushered Loki back to the other room.

Once there, Loki said, quietly, "You don't believe him, either."

Thor almost grimaced. "I don't know. He's...acting strangely."

"Oh _now_ you notice. Why couldn't you notice last night?"

"What does it matter? We will break fast then we will leave. There's no need to start acting strangely, too."

The trickster huffed. "Easy for you to say."

Thor looked ready to gainsay, but he paused, then apparently rethought his words. "What is _that _supposed to mean."

"Nothing...Thor."

"No, no. You're not doing that again. You were saying something by that; _what did you mean_?"

Loki shrugged and avoided Thor's gaze. "It's nothing." When Thor began to protest again, he added, "_Truly_. I misspoke. I'm not even certain what I meant by it."

The other looked ready to argue again, but he said nothing further, letting it go. "Very well then. We will eat, then leave. Yes?" Loki nodded, lost in thought.

What _had _he meant by that? Only that there was so little Thor ever feared- so little that he _should_ fear. Even as powerful as their parents were, Thor seemed the only Odinson to inherit that power. Loki was forever left behind, always the tag-along, always the one made fun-of because he couldn't _keep up_. When he'd shown an affinity for magic he'd actually been happy- despite the scorn he'd known he would have to endure for it. _Here_ was something that could make up for his lack of raw strength, here was something that _Thor_ didn't have, something that only _Loki _could do. Of course he was still learning the craft, but he wasn't expecting to be proficient at it for another few centuries at least; but he was a fast learner, and his mother was a powerful sorcerer, he was certain it wouldn't be long before he made up the difference with Thor. Then he would be just as useful, no longer afraid of what lay beyond the next bend.

.

The princes ate in silence, their host not joining them. He had rushed in, set down their food, then rushed back out, but not to the kitchen. Thor had repeated that he was an odd man. Loki agreed.

"So, brother," Thor stood up, "gather your things and we will leave."

Loki couldn't help but smile a little. _Finally._ Why couldn't they have left _yesterday_? He couldn't wait to get out the door.

Both princes retrieved their belongings, expressed their thanks to their host, then headed for the door. It wasn't that Loki wasn't grateful for the man's attempts- poor though they were -at hospitality, he just wanted _out_. This house didn't feel right, they shouldn't have come in the first place.

Thor opened the door for the both of them, smiling and laughing at something that Loki hadn't been paying attention to. Still, Loki couldn't help a small smile, himself.

It was very foggy outside. They could barely see half a dozen steps ahead.

"This is a heavy fog," Thor stated.

"How astute of you, brother," Loki returned, smiling. The fog was annoying, certainly, but it still looked better than the house- and at least it was brighter, if still very gray and overcast.

Thor snorted as he led them away from the house.

After walking barely twenty paces, though, Loki was grabbed by Thor around the waist as he was pulled back harshly.

"Thor, what-!" But as he blinked, Loki couldn't believe his eyes. There was a sheer drop, like a cliff, suddenly before him. If Thor hadn't caught him he'd have fallen.

"What in the Nine Realms is this?" bellowed Thor. "This was not here last night," he paused, "right?"

Loki nodded furiously, still held tightly by Thor. "I don't- what's happening? How is this possible? Did we...take a wrong turn, somehow?" The thunderer quirked an eyebrow at him. Okay, _stupid_. "Well do you have a better explanation?"

Thor shrugged and carefully let go of Loki, well away from the cliff side. "I'm not the thinker in the family, brother." Loki rolled his eyes. "Let us go around."

But, as they followed along the edge of the cliff, it continued for some ways, curving around the house.

"I don't understand this," Loki murmured and Thor agreed.

After some time they looked up and realized they had circled all the way back around to the front of the house.

"By the Norns," whispered Loki. "How... What is happening? I don't..."

"I have no explanations, brother," Thor said in a low voice.

It didn't make any sense- it was impossible! They were...trapped. Wait. No. Heimdall could see them, Heimdall could redirect the Bifrost to their location.

"Thor. Heimdall."

Thor nodded, understanding. "Heimdall!" he yelled to the sky. "Can you bring us home? Something has happened, we cannot leave!"

While it was preferrable to the Gatekeeper that they arrive and leave at the same spot, it wasn't impossible for the bridge to be redirected. It only took a little time. Loki was glad of it; he didn't want to linger here any longer than necessary.

Behind them, the house stood ominous, as if waiting for their return. Loki tried his best not to look in that direction. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to see but fog in every direction. And everything was so _drab_. The house was gray, the fog was white, even the grass seemed a dull green. Thor's cape was the only vibrant color in his line of vision, and his golden hair. The trickster decided to concentrate on him. Except, Thor began to notice him staring after a few minutes.

"What?" Thor said, amused. "Is something on my face?"

Loki responded in a dull tone, "If ugly is _something_ then I suppose: yes."

Thor laughed and punched Loki on the arm. "Shut up, brother."

"Ow. Thor." He rubbed at the spot and he wasn't entirely faking. Thor never could regulate his own strength very well.

Shaking his head, Thor again looked to the sky. "Heimdall...is the Bifrost ready yet?" Apparently Thor was just as eager to leave as Loki.

"Should it take this long?" Loki asked.

"No. No it shouldn't."

Loki had known that answer already, but he had to ask. They waited a while longer, then sat down on the grass. The sun was nearly at noon now, its bright spot veiled behind a seemingly impenetrable fog.

Looking back at the house, they saw one of the curtains move. _Grimur._

It had been too long already; Heimdall would have retrieved them by now if he could. Thor stood up and helped Loki to stand without prompting. He had a purposeful air about him and the younger wondered what his intentions were. Thor was not one to sit around and _wait_- for anything, really.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Loki asked as Thor rushed over to the house- not running, but with wide strides that brought him to the door very quickly. Without hesitation he kicked open the door and pushed inside.

"Grimur!" he bellowed to the dark. "What is happening out there? Where are you?!"

Grimur ran to the top of the stairs and seemed out of breath. "You- You're still here. You're still here."

"Yes, we _know_," said Thor. "I asked: _what is happening_? Why can we not leave? Is this sorcery?"

Grimur stumbled down the steps. "Please, please, this is no place to explain." His eyes darted around. Then he whispered, "Close the door and follow me." The two princes frowned at him as he repeated, "I will explain, but not here. Come." He beckoned with a hand as he headed up the stairs again and out of view.

Thor glanced once at Loki- who shrugged uncertainly and shut the door -then bounded up the stairs after the Vanir man. Loki had no choice but to follow.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So what do you guys think so far?**

**Oh, I forgot: if you're so inclined, take a look at my Halloween-themed Thor & Loki picture on deviantART. There's a link on my profile page.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Let's all run for the hills! ...because, I don't know why. It's almost Halloween? Yeah there we go. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

"Answer me now, little man," Thor began immediately when they entered a small room, which was barely large enough for the three of them- it was barely large enough for _Thor_, truthfully.

"_Sh_," said Grimur as he lingered outside the door. "Please, quiet. They'll hear." His eyes darted out into the hallway as he rushed back in and closed the door behind.

"Who is _they_," inquired Loki. The man was clearly paranoid, but, given what had happened, perhaps he had a right to be? They needed answers, preferably right now.

"They," he answered, "_them_. They're here for me- for _you_ now, too."

"Who?" asked Thor.

Grimur continued as if he hadn't heard. "They're always here, always. Moving things and whispering. They'll take me soon, so soon, I'm sure. They won't stop _making noise_." He gibbered incoherently for a moment then turned wide, frightened eyes to Loki. "You. You've heard them, heard them, too. Heard their song."

Loki frowned. "Eh...song?"

The man nodded frantically. "Yes. Yes. In the dark, in the night- their _sounds_. You said it, right, yes? The _sounds_. Banging and thumping and creaking and hissing and, and..." he trailed off, eyes jumping around the room, then to the window. He rushed to the window, looked out quickly, then returned to the princes, who gave each other the same look while the man was turned away from them.

"So..." Loki began, "these...'_them'_, what are they? We don't understand-"

"_Shh!_ They'll hear you!"

"But-"

"I will speak; you will be quiet."

Thor looked ready to knock the man's head off for disrespecting his brother, but he let it go. Probably because the man was clearly mad. How he had managed to keep it together previously was a mystery, however.

Loki sighed, then nodded.

"My family," Grimur whispered, eyes suddenly glassy. "They were here, then they weren't." Thor and Loki frowned. "Each one, disappeared. Some at night, some at day. Random, no pattern. Whispers and groaning and no, no, no!" He grabbed his head, then, looking to the princes, suddenly settled down. "I'm the last, _last_. They're all gone- my loves. All disappeared. No trace, no body, no blood, just gone. I can't weep without tears anymore, I can't...I tried to call them back, but I can't." He leaned on the wall, then slid to the floor slowly, and Loki couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He bent down in front of him.

"I...I am sorry. Do you..." He didn't want to interrupt his sorrow, but he hadn't explained much yet. He tried a different question. "Why does the ground drop off outside your home when yesterday it was flat ground?"

The man looked up. "D-Drop off?" Loki nodded as Grimur stared. "They won't let you leave. You're their's now. They won't let you_ go_."

"Why not?" asked Thor.

Grimur started at the thunderer's voice, as if he'd appeared out of nowhere. "I don't know. Don't know. This land is _mine_, why are they here? Why...why...why..."

Both princes attempted to rouse the man again, but he was insensible. He only managed to gibber incoherently once more, but nothing else.

"Loki, let us talk outside."

"Outside?"

"Outside _this room_." Thor gestured to the corridor. "We cannot leave anyway, there's no reason to go outside."

Loki nodded as he followed the elder out.

"What do you think?" asked Thor after they'd shut Grimur's door.

"What? That the man's clearly mad?"

"Of course, Loki, but what do you think of what he's saying?"

The younger prince sighed. "I don't know. If he did have a family, it's possible he lost whatever sanity he had when they left. But that doesn't explain what's happened outside, _or_ why he thinks somebody- or some _things_ are after him. Why? What do you think?"

Thor pursed his lips and lightly shook his head. "I don't know. As I said: I'm not the thinker in the family." He smiled, but it was subdued. Loki nodded. "But," Thor continued, "perhaps we should investigate on our own. There might be something in this house that could explain a little about what is happening."

No reason to argue with that, Loki nodded and followed Thor away from the madman's room.

.

While the princes walked through the kitchen, searching cupboards and drawers for anything useful, Loki blurted out, "I had this dream..."

Thor stopped, and when Loki didn't continue, he approached the younger prince slowly. "What dream?"

The trickster licked his lips. "I...I was in this house, and...and I couldn't find you. You were just gone, I thought, I thought you'd..." he trailed off.

"You thought I'd left you," Thor finished. "So that _was _why you looked so frightened this morning, hm?" Loki nodded. "What happened in this dream?"

Inhaling a deep breath, Loki said, "Not much...until the end." He glanced at Thor, who was waiting, but he couldn't hold his gaze. "Grimur tried to kill me."

"What?"

"Not...I mean, I don't know what happened. It was so strange, and dark, and I couldn't- I couldn't _breathe_. And there was something _on my leg_, and-and I couldn't get away..."

"Sh, alright, brother, alright." Thor stepped closer and put both hands on Loki's narrow shoulders. "That's enough, you do not have to tell me all."

Loki shook his head, closing his eyes. "But it could be important, couldn't it? You...you had disappeared, and I-I couldn't find you. What if that happens now?" He opened his eyes and couldn't help but feel _so stupid_ because he wasn't a child anymore, he had long past the age where he needed Thor to soothe his fears from nightmares- both imagined and real. He didn't _need_ him anymore.

Without waiting for Loki's objection, Thor grabbed him in a hug. "I am not leaving you, do you hear?" he murmured into the side of Loki's head. "I am not going anywhere- not without you, at least."

Loki nodded and buried his face against Thor. A moment later, though, he sniffed and pulled back, wiping his tears. _Fool_, he thought of himself, _always crying for no reason. No wonder everyone thinks you weak._

"Are you alright now?" Thor bent down to look in Loki's downturned face. "I give you my word, Loki, I'll not leave you."

Laughing with slight embarrassment, Loki pushed the other away playfully. "There's no need, brother. I'm being..._childish_, of all things. Just ignore me."

Thor smiled, a more genuine smile this time. "But you _are_ still a child, Loki."

"Oh be quiet, you're a man-child if I've ever seen one."

"The word 'man' is still in there..."

Loki pushed Thor back again- as the other laughed -but he gasped when out of the corner of his eye, behind Thor, he saw a door closing. "Thor!" he whispered.

The thunderer turned around quickly. "What? Did you see something?"

"The door was closing, I..."

Thor ran to the door- some sort of pantry, Loki guessed -drew his sword, and yanked it open with a growl. Loki rushed up behind him, dagger in hand, but stayed further back. He could throw his dagger just as easily from back here, after all, and he'd get in Thor's way if there was a fight. The room was long, but small.

"Who's in here?" Thor demanded of the dark room, the only light streaming in from the kitchen. "Grimur? Is that you?" No answer.

Loki dared to come closer as Thor lowered his sword. "Perhaps...perhaps they were _leaving_ this room?"

Thor looked to him. "But would you not have seen this person? They would have had to pass behind me to cross the room."

"I wasn't paying much attention, brother," Loki admitted.

Could it have been Grimur? When the princes made their way to their host's room, they found him in the same way that they had left him. It was unlikely he had moved, unless he was acting for some reason- and he'd have to be a very good liar, at that. They left him and spoke again in the corridor.

"Perhaps," Loki tried, "there _is_ someone else in this house? Perhaps their intent is simply to trick us?"

Thor snorted. "Like you might?"

"Well, where there's one there's bound to be more," Loki smiled.

"Are you suggesting a _trickster_, like yourself, is trying to make us go mad? He'll have to try harder."

Loki scoffed. "It seems to have worked with Grimur."

"Grimur was likely mad before now, isn't that what you said? This _other_ person likely came into this house after and is now terrorizing the poor man."

"But..." Loki narrowed his eyes, thinking, "but if that is true, then what of what's happening outside?"

Then, when both their eyes widened, they answered together: "Illusions."

The princes rushed down the stairs and outside, then ran to the cliff's edge, nearly falling off- if there was anything to fall off of.

"Then what do we do?" asked Thor in a hurry.

Bending down, Loki picked up a rock. "This," he tossed it over the side.

"What is that meant to prove?"

"Sh."

They waited, and waited, but nothing happened.

"Brother," Thor tapped his foot impatiently.

Loki frowned as he peered over the edge. "If it were an illusion, it would have dissipated when the rock touched it." Perhaps it needed to be a living thing? He tentatively reached his foot over the edge, but Thor immediately grabbed his upper body, causing Loki to startle. "Dammit, Thor," he hissed. His foot dangled, but nothing happened. "This...should be working. That is, _if_ it's an illusion."

"Loki...is mother still teaching you that woman's craft?"

Pulling his foot back, the trickster all but threw the other off. "I don't have to take this from _you_, of all people. You who've been practicing wielding _lightning _with that hammer father allows you to borrow."

Thor chuckled defensively. "That is not magic, brother..."

"Then _what is it_, hm?" Loki raised his eyebrows.

Thor's mind seemed to be searching for an adequate answer. "I...am simply channeling a type of power-"

"_Magic_ power, you mean."

"_No_. Not magic-"

A loud scream coming from the house interrupted their arguing. For some reason, it was a woman's scream, muffled by the walls but still clear.

"Th-Thor?" Loki stuttered, suddenly very frightened. He didn't know why, exactly, but the sound had shot into him like an arrow, straight to his heart.

The thunderer, as per usual, ran into the house without thinking. Loki rushed in after him, not wanting to be left alone.

"Grimur?!" Thor yelled. "What was that- _Grimur_?!"

Running up to his room, they found the man hadn't moved at all, although he lifted his head to look at them with wide eyes, as if he'd heard as well.

Thor and Loki went room to room, searching for the woman, but they found no one else in the house; they'd even checked the closets and wardrobes.

"Where could she be?" asked Thor, clearly frustrated.

"I don't know," Loki mumbled.

They'd stopped in the foyer, mostly because it was the brightest room, the numerous windows providing the most light in the house despite the tall curtains that hung from them.

"What should we do?" asked Loki. Because what _could_ they do? Whatever was happening outside was clearly not an illusion. It could be some other form of powerful sorcery, but Loki couldn't imagine what.

Thor didn't answer as he led them back up to Grimur's room.

.

Despite the strange goings-on, they had little choice but to stay in the house. Loki hoped Heimdall had in fact heard them, but that the Bifrost was somehow being blocked and that their parents would soon find a solution and retrieve them. That was the only logical explanation, and he clung to it.

When dinner time approached, Grimur had somehow composed himself and come downstairs, and strangely, he continued to treat them as guests. He made more food- paltry though it was -and skulked about the house afterwards, refusing to answer any questions, no matter how many times asked. Thor was clearly becoming frustrated.

"What are we to do, brother?" Thor sighed as they walked to their rooms. "Are we to wait in this strange house until aid comes to _us_?"

Loki shrugged uncertainly. "What else is there?"

"I do not know," the thunderer admitted. "But surely there is _something_."

Smiling slightly, Loki said, "Ever incapable of doing _nothing_, aren't we, brother?"

Thor shook his head as he walked into his room. Loki followed.

"What are you doing?" Thor stopped and Loki nearly ran into him.

"Beg pardon?"

"Your room is across the hallway, last I checked. Did you...want to speak further?"

Loki glanced back, toward the closed door of his room. He didn't want to sleep there, he didn't... He didn't want to wake and find Thor...

The thunderer's brow furrowed. "Is something the matter?"

So here it was: should he swallow his pride and ask to remain with Thor, or should he listen to reason and do what _a grown man_ should do, which was to realize he could do something as simple as sleep on his own.

"Loki, did you wish to sleep in my room?"

Green eyes jumped to blue. "I..." Thor was asking- practically _offering_. He was already halfway there. Biting his lip, Loki nodded.

Thor smiled, and thankfully, not mockingly. That was a surprise, actually. Perhaps Loki's apprehension was showing on his face- he desperately hoped not -and it was keeping the thunderer from his usual harshness.

.

While Loki had suggested they might move a smaller bed into Thor's room so he could sleep on it, Thor shook his head at the idea. 'For what purpose?' he'd said. 'This bed is large enough for two.' Loki hated admitting it, even only to himself, but he was glad Thor had disagreed with him. He dreaded sleeping alone in this house.

With the warm fire burning bright, the two princes settled on the large bed which sat directly across from the door. Loki lay on the left side of the bed, Thor the right- closer to the fire. Loki had always endured the cold easier, however strange that was. He also preferred to lay on his right side, which, fortunately, placed Thor at his back. He didn't fancy exposing his back to... well, who knew what?

Given that he'd had less sleep than usual the night before, he fell asleep fairly quickly.

.

Loki slid into wakefulness slowly, his mind still addled with sleep. He was still on his right side, and he had the strange sensation that his hand was warm, as if somebody had recently been holding it. Why would Thor have been holding his hand? But...

But he felt Thor at his back, the hardness of his back's muscles warm against Loki's spine.

Loki froze. Then...who had been holding his hand? He didn't dare open his eyes to look- he...he couldn't. What if he saw something there? What if... He didn't know what to imagine. He couldn't even move his hand away and it felt exposed near the edge of the bed. He took in deep and purposeful breaths, fearful that something might hear.

He should wake Thor. He was there, _right there _behind him. He would wake up and grumble at Loki, annoyed and sleepy- he might even growl at him in anger for waking him, and Loki was _desperate_ to hear his brother's words, even spoken in anger because then he would be _awake_, and he would chase away the waking nightmare, make everything _normal_ again. He always did.

But after several moments, when nothing out of the ordinary happened, Loki began to feel foolish. _Then it was a nightmare. There was nothing._ Abruptly, he forced himself to open his eyes. The fire had nearly died, but he could make out just enough to see that there was nothing there. He sighed. _Nothing. Just my stupid, paranoid mind playing tricks on me again. _Still, he pushed back a little further so his back was more against Thor, and, after laying awake for nearly half an hour, he fell asleep again.

.

The second time Loki was awakened in the middle of the night, he thought Thor was trying to wake him up. But why was Thor whispering in his ear? His right ear- as Loki was now lying on his back. Had Thor woken up before him? That was unusual. But when his left hand landed on his brother's chest, Loki tensed up. _No. It's not real... Just a nightmare, like before._ Something whispered in his right ear again, and he had the distinct feeling that there was someone next to his bed. And when he heard a low creak in the floor there, Loki couldn't help but whimper and jerk toward Thor, although he didn't dare open his eyes- he _didn't want to see_, because it wasn't real. It wasn't real so he couldn't see, shouldn't see, shouldn't _look_. _I'm not meant to look- there's nothing there but I shouldn't see. Don't look don't look there's nothing there._..

But when the bed dipped on his right side and he felt a cool breath on his cheek, Loki lost control and began screaming, screaming and scrambling away on top of Thor. His eyes opened but he didn't see anything there, nothing but darkness, and next his brother when Loki scrambled over Thor and off the other side of the bed.

Thor all but jumped out of bed and immediately unsheathed his sword- Loki didn't know where he'd been keeping it. "What is wrong?! Brother?!" Thor scrambled into a more proper fighting stance when he saw Loki in a heap on the floor, one of the trickster's legs still at an awkward angle on the bed. "What's happened?" Thor asked as he simultaneously eyed the room and helped Loki to stand. "Is there danger? _What is wrong_, brother, answer me."

Breathing harshly, in and out, Loki managed to latch on to the other as he helped himself to stand. "Th-There was..." He didn't continue, his throat felt like it was closing up.

"There was _what_?" Thor urged, eyes wide and worried for his brother, sword still at the ready. "Are you injured? _What happened?_"

Loki opened his mouth wide, forcing the words out. "I-I'm fine; I'm not injured. I just thought- I thought there was someone in bed with me."

There was a momentary pause as Thor frowned. "Yes, there was. _Me_."

"No. No not you, brother, _something else_," Loki whispered the last part and looked around on the floor, as if he could spot whatever it was.

"Like what?" asked Thor as he looked about as well.

"I...I don't know," Loki sighed.

Again, Thor paused, then asked, "Could you have been-"

"_No_," Loki interrupted, he knew what he was going to say. "No, I wasn't dreaming. I was awake; I am sure of it." He wanted Thor to believe him- he _needed_ him to. He widened his eyes further and Thor, as always, couldn't resist that look.

"I...I am sorry, I was not suggesting you were... What would you like to do?" It didn't confirm that he believed him, but at least he understood that _Loki_ believed it. Thor sheathed his sword. "Can you sleep?"

Loki immediately shook his head as he hugged himself. "I-I don't think so." He rubbed at the back of his neck with a hand.

"We'll stay up together, hm?" As Loki didn't let up rubbing at his neck and generally looking uncomfortable, Thor stopped his fidgeting with a hand on the side of Loki's neck. "Everything will be well, brother."

"How could you know?" snapped Loki. He didn't know why he suddenly felt a spike of anger, although it left just as quickly. Fortunately, Thor didn't pull away. "I'm sorry," he said immediately. "I'm just...I'm tired. I slept very little last night, as well."

Thor nodded and directed them to a small bench beside the fireplace. He then left Loki for a moment to stoke the fire and added more wood, but returned before Loki could feel anxious again.

He didn't know why, but Loki now had the constant fear that there was somebody next to him, that he might hear them whisper in his ear at any moment. He flinched frequently and felt foolish for it. Thor was here and it was bright and warm, yet... he couldn't shake the feeling, like _someone was watching him_.

He was not at all surprised when Thor fell asleep against him not half an hour later.

.

Dozing, and with his head frequently dipping, Loki stubbornly clung to wakefulness. He _didn't want to sleep_. Yet still, he found his eyelids drooping as he was _sorely_ tempted to lay his own head against his brother.

When he finally could help it no longer, and as his head rested against Thor's, he heard the distinctive _creeaak_ of the door opening. Loki was sure he was already asleep, so he tried to ignore it. But still, when he heard the low _thud_ of the door hitting the back wall, he stiffened and, feeling less fearful with Thor so near, he cracked his eyes open.

It was dark in the room, the fire had nearly gone out, only a few smoldering coals left, but it was enough for him to see.

_By all the gods, what am I _seeing_?_

The door was wide open, the corridor outside black as pitch. But there, in the doorway, was something Loki's eyes had a hard time distinguishing. It looked like a person, on the floor, as if face down, black hair going out everywhere and covering much of their person. Two dirtied hands- clawed against the ground, reached out, then _pulled_ toward Loki.

_What is this?!_ Loki tried to move but he was paralyzed, as if his limbs strained against each other all at once.

The hands shot out again, dragged themselves toward him. _What is this- w__hat's happening?! _He couldn't see a face, only wild hair and black clothes- it was too dark to make out anything else. It crawled, slowly, toward him. It crawled, and crawled...its hands gnarled as broken trees and determined on its course, the sound of its body sliding on the floor sent chills through Loki.

_Thor, wake up...Wake up!_ But he couldn't move. Couldn't move to wake up his brother, who was _right there!_ So close yet so far. _Thor, please..._

He heard a low guttural sound from the thing, long and unlike anything he had ever heard. One of its hands landed near Loki's foot. _Why can't I move?! _

Then his name was being called. _"Loki...Loki..."_ But where was it coming from?

"Loki!"

Loki jerked awake as his eyes landed on Thor, hovering over him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, wake up!"

Loki scrambled off the bench and stood up, placing his back against the wall. His eyes darted around, looking for the creature he'd seen. "Where is it? Where did it go?"

Thor approached. "Brother, you were dreaming, you were...screaming. I only left a moment to grab a blanket for you when you started thrashing. Are you alright?"

Without hesitation, Loki shook his head fervently. He hugged himself at first, but almost immediately went to Thor, desperate to feel something comforting and solid and _real_ pressing against him. Why did these dreams keep happening? They felt real, he was so confused.

"It's alright," soothed Thor as he held him tightly. "It was only a dream, everything is fine now."

For a while they only stood there, with Thor holding him, but Loki soon mumbled in answer, "I don't think it is."

.

When the light of day streamed in past the curtains, Loki was roughly pulled from his restless half-sleep by two hands on his shoulders.

"Loki, wake up."

"I'm not sleeping."

"Look."

Opening his eyes wider, Loki saw where his brother was pointing. Starting from the door, there was a long trail of blood that ended at the foot of the bench.

"What is this?" mumbled Thor as he stared at it.

Loki scrambled to his feet from the chair he'd been sitting in. _No..._ No, it wasn't possible. _It was just a dream- just a dream. _He grabbed Thor's arm. "Th-The creature- last night, in my dream. It...it crawled, it crawled toward me on the-" Loki had to swallow against his constricting throat. _This isn't possible!_

"But that was just a dream, what- How could this have happened? No one came into our room last night, unless..."

Loki knew what he was going to say. "You think Grimur did this? Why?"

"No, no, not Grimur, that... That uninvited house guest that has been tormenting Grimur."

The trickster nodded. "If such a person, in fact, exists. But how would they know we would be asleep?"

"I never fell asleep after we woke the first time, brother."

_Oh. _Thor had been sleeping in Loki's _dream_. It made sense, Thor had done it before, had to stay awake to watch for enemies in the wilderness.

"Or..." Thor said slowly, "there _is_ something more happening here."

"What-?"

"Surely it is possible?"

Loki swallowed nervously. _Anything_ was possible, really. He just didn't like the idea of something happening that couldn't be explained rationally.

"But," continued Thor, "it may just as well be an intruder. We don't know yet." He leaned toward Loki. "But I promise you, brother, _we will find them_. Today. We'll search the entire house for them...again. They can't hide forever. Then, hopefully, we can leave this place."

He knew Thor was just trying to comfort him, to keep him from dwelling on dark thoughts too long; Loki did have that tendency and it sometimes made him freeze up and not act. Thor was a doer; Loki, a thinker. Sadly, his thoughts were often a hindrance even if they were usually his greatest asset. Most of the time this knowledge made him annoyed at Thor, but right now, he needed action more than thoughts.

He nodded.

"We'll start with the foyer," said Thor with determination.

.

As they had before, they checked the house room by room. Unlike before, they took their time and went about it methodically. If there were two doors in the room, one would stand by one door while the other searched the room. They also tried to be as quiet as possible so as to not alert the intruder, if there was one. However, like before, they found nothing- except they remembered there was one room they hadn't checked, because it was locked. It was also locked the first time they'd tried searching the house. Thor hadn't wanted to break down the elegant double-doors out of respect for the home's owner, but now he didn't seem to care.

"Should we ask Grimur first, or..." Loki began, but Thor rammed into the oaken doors with his shoulder, forcing them open with a loud bang. "Or not."

The room had a strange smell about it, like a cold damp- a cave that had never seen the light of day. It was also dark, as if the light from the foyer couldn't reach past the door. Loki hurriedly carried in a lantern, and wondered how his elder brother could walk into such a dark space without feeling even an ounce of fear. He next wondered if it was bravery or a lack of awareness...or imagination. Thor did rarely let his imagination run away with him. As ever, Loki would _think_ too much for his own good.

Although it was still dark, even with the light, Loki could make out a strange obstruction in the middle of the large room. He guessed that the room had been some sort of great hall- or some Vanir equivalent -but there was nothing in the room except for...a well. A water well. It had a low wall, its stone crumbled and spent. Loki blinked at it. What was a _well_ doing in the middle of a house? Granted, it looked as though Grimur had had to remove much of the flooring to get to it, and it appeared that the well had been _under_ the house, as if the house-builders had simply built over it. Lazy. But who knew what Vanir builders cared about? Of course, to Loki it seemed something of a hazard...

Thor immediately jumped down off the house's wooden floor and onto the ground beside the stone well. "This is strange," he murmured.

"To say the least," Loki added quietly. For some reason, it felt like being loud would somehow be _wrong _just now, especially in the cavernous space of this room.

The thunder god leaned over and stared down the well. Loki shuddered. What was _wrong_ with Thor? How could he do that so easily, without fear? The well was _large_, and dark, and cold, it looked _ancient_ and just generally unpleasant; and here Thor was simply _staring_ into it.

"Loki, come here."

Loki shook his head without answering at first. Then, in a shaky voice he couldn't help, said, "No. I-I don't want to."

He thought he heard Thor sigh in annoyance. "Bring that _light_ down here. I can't see."

For a moment, for one _single_ moment, Loki considered running. Thor would likely yell and run after him, and right now, that seemed a preferable scenario to whatever _this_ was. And they would be _away_ from here. But the moment passed, and Loki was already, carefully and slowly, picking his way down toward his brother.

Thor didn't turn around.

"What is it, brother?" Loki mumbled as he approached. He couldn't help shivering slightly, and he told himself it was from the cold. "Is...is there something in there...?"

Thor continued to stare down into the darkness.

When Loki approached, when the light from his lantern began to illuminate the inside of the well like a sun rising, there was a sudden and violent commotion in front of him. His lantern swayed terribly and he barely had time to recognize his brother's feet disappearing over the edge of the well.

"No!" Loki yelped, but he saw too late the man standing beside where his brother had been. He saw too late that the man had something in his hand, something that rendered Loki unconscious a second later.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I straight up stole a scene (sort of) from a horror movie and put it in this chapter. It's an old film, though, so it's likely you haven't seen it. Cookies if you figure out which scene. Or...y'know, virtual cookies, but I'm sure they taste just as good! Cookies are cookies!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I meant to update this earlier today, but I was at my sister's house for Halloween and, naturally, forgot this chapter at home on my computer. Sorry about that. This is the final chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

For once, Loki realized that he was dreaming.

He stood before a door in the house, but everything was bright, so unlike how he remembered it. The curtains were pulled back and the sun shone brightly through the windows. A serenity came over him that he'd not felt in so long.

He looked down.

There was a knife in his hands.

The air was quiet, but only for a moment. On the other side of the double doors, he heard laughter. Children's laughter, then a woman's- pleasant and lilting. For some reason the sound of it filled him with both longing and a sudden inescapable rage.

He gripped the knife tighter.

.

_"Loki. Wake up."_

The prince, with great effort, drifted into wakefulness. He remembered very little of the dream, except that it had been bright, and for a moment at least, somewhat pleasant. It somehow seemed so much darker after the sunlight had faded.

He drew his hand to his head when he felt a spike of pain, although it subsided and left a dull throbbing instead. "Ow," he mumbled as he attempted to sit up.

It was dark here and he couldn't remember what had happened or where he was. But only for a moment. He remembered he was in a madman's house, and that they couldn't leave- that Thor and he had been searching-

_Thor._

"Brother?!" Loki sat up quickly- then tentatively, after his head swam -and looked around for Thor. "Thor? Where..?" The well. He had...Thor had _fallen_ into the well. _No. No, he didn't fall_. He had been _pushed_. Loki remembered now, the man's face. Grimur had pushed Thor, and then he'd attacked Loki; he'd caught them both off-guard.

Had it all been an act, then? Was the man truly traumatized in some way, or was he simply _mad_? Why would he attack them? It didn't make sense... Not that anything had to make sense to a madman.

Unfortunately- and typically, of late -it was too dark in the room to see. Loki guessed that he was no longer in the well-room, at least by the smell. Although, the smell was still very unpleasant, wherever he was. In fact, the stench seemed to be getting _worse_.

Ignoring it for now, the prince continued to look around. Given his head injury, he wondered if he was imagining the faint light coming from the other side of the room. Stumbling to his feet, he wondered what purpose Grimur had for depositing him here. The man hadn't even bothered to restrain him; had he been trying to kill him? Perhaps he had thought Loki dead.

Slowly, Loki made his way toward the light. It seemed to be a candle in a room across from this one. _Hm._ Next he could make out the faint silhouette of the open door, and his way out.

_That man truly is mad_, Loki mused.

Then, when he was only a step away from the door, a sudden and jolting pain shot up his right leg, along with a sound like sharp grating metal. Loki couldn't help but scream as he fell over. There was something attached to his leg, something very heavy and it _hurt_ _like Hel_. He shouted in pain again, but he didn't dare move his leg. _By the Norns, what is this?!_ He hissed and whimpered as he tried to tug his leg, but whatever it was was not moving. With trembling and frantic hands, he reached down to feel of whatever it was. Cold. Metal. _Wet_. Warm wetness.

_Oh..._

That was his blood. Clenching his teeth against the pain, his mind scrambled to identify the metal trap- _trap_. It was likely a metal trap, with jagged teeth that dug into his leg from both sides. It was a _bear_ trap, if he had to guess. They weren't used in Asgard, but there were some realms that liked to use them. What was one doing here, and inside a _house_, no less?

_Thump._

Loki stiffened.

_Thump. Thump._

The noise was coming from behind.

He couldn't breathe but it _hurt_ not to because he needed the oxygen. _Don't breathe. Don't look back._ It was dark, but his eyes were adjusting. He didn't want to look behind, but he also didn't want to feel that there might be _something _behind him that-

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Loki suddenly remembered Thor's words, something he'd said the first morning after they'd stayed here. _"That room had an odd odor to it; Grimur offered the room across from yours instead..." _It had an odd odor to it, an odor Loki was smelling now.

_Thump._ Louder, this time.

He couldn't help it when he whimpered, because he _didn't want to turn around_. He also couldn't_ run._ The pain in his leg had all but disappeared given his new fear. He felt blood trickling out, felt his body attempting to heal itself, but knew it couldn't until the metal was removed...

_Don't turn. There's no reason to; there's nothing. Take care of your leg. Find Thor. Leave. Just leave._

Then the thudding against the wall started up again, and wouldn't stop.

Loki couldn't help it. Even when he told himself- _ordered_ himself not to turn around, he couldn't help it._  
><em>

It was faint, and at first he could see nothing, but he finally made out the form of a body on the floor in the far corner. It banged its head on the wall, then did so again after a moment. Then it continued to do so without stopping.

Loki was frozen, he couldn't stop staring. What was it? _Who_ was it? By the size, it looked almost like a child- or at least an adolescent, not yet fully grown. Why was it doing that? Did it not hurt? And _the smell..._

The thing stopped. Loki swallowed and stared, unable to move a muscle. Then, the thing's head turned, slowly, toward him.

Suddenly, it started moving toward him, its small hands splayed out, rising high, and _slapping_ on the floor as it approached with jilted movements. Loki couldn't even conjure a proper scream at the unnaturalness of it, but his body moved all its own, demanding to be _away_ from this thing. But he couldn't move fast enough, the heavy trap weighing him down. _No! Help me!_ He couldn't stand so he crawled across the floor and out into the corridor. He happened a glance back and, to his horror, the thing continued its jerky movements toward him.

"_No!_" Loki shrieked as he tried to drag himself down the hallway. The metal was too heavy- he was _too slow_. It would catch him, any moment. He lost sight of it as he made his way along the corridor, but he could_ hear_ it, the sounds of little hands- _plap, plap, plap_ -on the floor getting closer.

The metal trap banged against the floor and he wasn't moving fast enough, he wouldn't escape it.

The stairs. The stairs were nearby. Loki could fall down them and escape faster. Then he could... He didn't know what.

_Plap, plap, plap._

He thought of going outside first, but that was ridiculous, there was nowhere to go out there. Then he decided on the well-room. Thor was there; he knew Thor was there. He was probably still down that well. It was unlikely he'd escaped- Loki could go down with him. It didn't occur to the second prince that they'd both be trapped there, he just wanted to be with his brother, and _away_ from whatever this horror was.

The sounds of the creature dissipated, and was replaced by the sounds of Loki falling along with the loud clangs of metal down the stairs. The trickster hadn't hesitated, he fell head-first and couldn't have cared less. Whatever was behind him was far worse than simple pain. It wasn't supposed to exist and he knew it.

The bottom of the stairs bit into his left arm and shoulder, but he barely noticed.

Even with the pain and his disorientation, his first instinct was to check the top of the stairs. Nothing. He saw nothing, _heard_ nothing. Nothing there at all. Loki could have laughed, except he nearly screamed when the sensation in his leg returned. The metal hadn't moved; in fact, it seemed to have dug further, almost to the bone. There wasn't much light here, but there was enough to see that it _was_ a bear trap and a very large one, at that. He tried his best to pry it off, but the metal was too strong and he didn't recognize this design. But he would _have_ to get it off if he wanted to move anywhere with any expediency.

And what if Grimur came back? And where was he? Had he left Loki there for that...that _thing_ to get him? Apparently the man hadn't trusted restraints to work on Loki, so he'd set this trap instead. Who would do such a thing? And why not simply push him in with Thor?

Thor was still down that well. Loki didn't worry that he might be dead; nothing that simple could kill his brother, but he _was_ likely unconscious. Who knew how deep that well went or what was at the bottom? But...what if there was water...

_No_. _No, Thor is fine. They wouldn't cover that well if it still held water. It likely went dry centuries ago._ There was probably just rock and dust down there; nothing the thunderer couldn't handle.

Settling on that, Loki felt a little better. He decided to ignore whatever he'd just seen in Thor's first room, because...because he couldn't even comprehend what had happened. He might even consider that he'd just imagined it, that Grimur had injured his head too severely. Yes, that was likely. Loki settled on that, too, and then clung to it.

Making his way, very _slowly_, toward the well, Loki kept a constant eye on his surroundings. Because _what_ _else_ might pop up, and worse still, where had Grimur gone? Loki was nearly immobile, all but helpless, although perhaps he might be able to conjure a dagger... No, that was unlikely, his injury was too severe and his magic was taxed with trying to keep him alive, with trying to keep him from bleeding out or falling unconscious again.

The metal clunked against the floor as Loki dragged himself into the well-room. It was still dark, but he didn't care. Thor was down there, that was all that mattered. If something approached now, he would simply fall in with him. In fact, he almost wanted to do it anyway, but that was foolish; how would either of them get out then? So, on his way there, Loki searched for something he might use to retrieve his brother. To his surprise, there was a long stretch of fabric near the entrance to the room that might do the trick. It was thick and sturdy, and a moment later he realized it was a long curtain. Not the best, but he had little else.

When at last he came to the well, he was all but drained of energy. His magic was straining against both his pain and his loss of blood, and his stress-filled mind wasn't helping at all.

"Thor," Loki called feebly, unable to make his voice carry. "Brother," he tried again, but it was barely a whisper.

He was so _tired_, he could barely catch his breath. And his head hurt- he'd probably injured it further by falling so carelessly down the stairs. He rested his aching head against the hard ground, then, gathering every ounce of energy he could, he hauled the heavy curtain over the lip of the well.

"Thor, here..." he murmured against the ground, already too tired to move. But he pushed the curtain, slowly but inch by inch, until only the end was left. _Tie the end, you idiot_, he ordered himself. _No. Too tired_, he answered back. _Do it now or you'll never get up again._ Nodding his head, he gathered the end and found something nearby to tie it to- what looked to be a part of the stone foundation of the house that had a jagged edge that he could hook the cloth to.

_Now yell for him..._

"Thor!" Loki tried to shout, breathing hard. "Brother...something...climb..." _Dammit! Be louder!_ "I can't..." Loki whined to himself.

__Speaking to yourself? N_ow who's the lunatic? _

_Shut up._

A rush of movement and a sudden brightness entered Loki's vision.

"You!" screamed Grimur, suddenly standing at the room's threshold. "How did you get down here?!" he growled angrily.

_No, no not now!_ "Thor!" Loki finally managed to screamed.

Grimur ran toward him and Loki scrambled toward the well, trying to heft himself up and into it. He had little other choice. But before he could reach it, Grimur was upon him, his hands trying to grab at the trickster god.

"No!" screamed Loki, voice breaking. "Get off me! Brother, where are you?!"

"Be quiet!" hissed Grimur as he attempted to drag him. "You'll go instead... They'll take you- they want you!"

What was the madman on about? "Let me go! Why are you doing this?"

He grabbed Loki around one arm and dragged him toward the door, but it was slow going given that he had to drag both the prince_ and_ the metal trap.

"You. They'll take you," Grimur continued to rattle on. "You, not me. They can't- they think...Yes, yes..." Loki didn't catch the rest of his mutterings.

_'They' again? What are they?_ Whatever they were, Loki wanted no part of what Grimur had planned. "Just let me _go_," Loki tried. But knowing it wouldn't work, he lifted his head and bit Grimur's hand- enough to fill his mouth with blood.

"_Ah!_" Grimur screamed and let go.

Loki tried to make it back to the well again. "Brother! _Thor!_" Then he heard...

_"Loki!"_ It was Thor, his voice faint but clear. Thor was shouting from within the well. _"Brother! I can't see anything down here. But I think there are bones... What is happening up there?"_

"Brother, he's trying to kill me!" he screamed as loudly as he could. Grimur walked over with obvious anger and grabbed him again, but Loki wasn't giving up. "Help me, please!"

_"I can't! Brother, I can't!"_

_No,_ Loki whimpered. _No, I need you; why aren't you here?_

_"Fight back, Loki!"_ screamed Thor. _"Fight back! He's just a man- fight!"_

Fight. Fight back because..._ just a man. He's just a man._ He wasn't like the other things Loki had seen. He was real, flesh and blood- Loki could still taste it in his mouth.

Without even the thought to do it Loki somehow conjured a small dagger in his hand, then immediately stabbed Grimur's left foot with it. For some reason, the dagger was made of ice; he'd never done that before. The man screamed and fell backward, although he tried desperately to remove the ice from his foot.

Frantic, and with his panic making his fingers shaky, Loki attempted to pry the metal trap off his leg. The large teeth dug into his muscle and probably went to the bone, but he grit his teeth and screamed as he tried to open the metal jaws.

Thor apparently heard him as he shouted from the well, _"Loki- what is happening? Brother?! Answer me!"_

Loki had no time to answer. He had no time to steal a glance at Grimur either, but he could sense him grunting and cursing somewhere in the dark.

The trap's jaws were too strong, he wouldn't get it off in time! But once again, he somehow conjured magic; the hard metal in his hands grew cold suddenly, to the point of pain. Startled, he let go, but instead of snapping on his leg again, the metal groaned and cracked, then broke into pieces as it fell away.

He couldn't believe it. He had no time to rejoice, however, as Grimur was stumbling to his feet in some sort of mad fit- spitting and cursing the princes of Asgard as he did so.

Loki heard one final plea from Thor- _Please, brother, run!_ -and without hesitating, the second prince ignored the pain and scrambled for the open door.

.

He'd left a trail of blood. He was sure he'd left a trail of blood, because how could he not? His body was trying to staunch the bleeding, but couldn't do it completely. It was too late, the madman would see. But how long would it take to find him?

Hiding in a large, windowless bathroom, Loki tried his best to wrap his leg with several pieces of cloth he'd found nearby. He was surprised to make it here, especially given the state of his mangled leg, but he recalled that he hadn't felt much pain until he had settled down in here- which had been the first small room he could find. It, perhaps, wasn't the wisest choice, but most of the other rooms felt too large and exposing, so he had tried for a smaller room. Not to mention, he had been afraid he'd pass out if he went any further.

He didn't like the dark, though, and the constant _drip, drip, drip_ in the bathtub sounded far too loud, its rhythmic tone a mockery to his fast-beating heart. Still, he tried to keep his head about him and concentrated on keeping his leg from falling apart. He wasn't sure he could walk on it now, he was in far too much pain- but if there was no other choice... He grit his teeth and tied it off, glad that it was over with.

Now...what plan could he conjure to get out of this? How could he get his brother out of that well, especially- once he thought about it -since the drapery he'd lowered into it was likely far too short to reach the thunderer? It didn't matter, they might be able to escape the house, _but where was there to go?_ There was no escaping...

Something whimpered in the dark.

Loki went rigid, then assumed he had made the noise himself and scolded himself for it- except... Except he heard it again, and he most _definitely_ had not made it that time. Then he heard faint whispering, and at the corner of his eye he thought he saw someone- _two_ someones hunched in the opposite corner and, terrified, he shut his eyes tight.

_No, not again. I don't have time for this._ He had a madman after him. _It isn't real..._

The whispering became louder. It sounded like two children.

_"...Don't touch it."_

_"But it hurts."_

_"I don't care. You know it's your own fault, you shouldn't have jumped out of bed."_

_"But I was scared. I don't like the sounds..."_

_"You know what father will do; be quiet."_

Loki didn't dare open his eyes, he could barely even breathe. One of the children began to cry.

_"Shh! He'll hear you."_

_"But, brother, it hurts."_

_"You shouldn't have jumped, I said. Now here, let me see."_

Silence, if only for a moment.

_"There now, there's nothing I can do."_

_"I want mummy."_

_"Mother's gone. And she's not coming back."_

_"But where? I want her! Where's she gone?"_

The child began to cry again.

_"And I said quiet! Father will hear, you little brat. If you'd just _ignore_ the sounds..."_

_"But I hate them. I don't like the banging in the middle of the night, they won't stop, I can't sleep. It's so loud next to my bed. And it's smelly."_

_"I already told you I'm not trading places with you."_

_"But, brother, please..."_

_"No. And you can't keep sleeping with me, you're too old for that."_

Loki didn't understand what was happening, but he couldn't help the twinge of a familiar ache in his chest.

_"I'm not as old as you yet, so-"_

The child stopped abruptly. Loki couldn't help but inhale sharply, afraid they'd somehow seen him- whatever they were. He realized his eyes were still closed.

There was a long silence. The children didn't continue. The drip of water hadn't stopped and it sounded so loud in the dark space.

_Open your eyes,_ Loki told himself. _Just open them. There's nothing there._

He waited. Waited for the voices to continue, and he was suddenly desperate to hear them. He couldn't see, couldn't know what was happening. He thought he heard shuffling in the dark, like the movement of clothes. _Why aren't they speaking?!_

_Open your eyes._

_No!_

They were just children- but they _weren't_.

The shuffle of clothes moved closer. He thought he heard little feet padding across the tiled floor, slowly nearing.

_Open your eyes!_

Afraid of his own inner voice suddenly, Loki opened his eyes and saw...nothing. But he could still _hear_ something, like low breathing right in front of him.

"Who...who are you?" Loki whispered, breathless.

For a long moment, nothing happened. And then, the door across from him _slowly_ creaked open.

.

A fair amount of light filtered in, and Loki could make out the wall across the corridor. Whatever the children were, he neither heard nor felt any sign of them. Had they gone?

Suddenly, the sound of a woman's scream floated in from the open door. Then, he heard the terrifying sound of someone desperately scrambling across the floor, and, to his horror, he saw the _thing_ from his first dream crawling across the floor at a frighteningly fast pace, although it only passed by the bathroom door; it didn't enter. Loki slowly exhaled his tightly held breath.

Then there was silence.

But might the thing return and enter here? Loki watched, barely breathing, and suddenly felt so exposed. And he was _on the ground_, so much closer to the...thing. He was terrified that it might return so he quickly grabbed for whatever he could and grit his teeth then pulled himself to his feet.

He not only couldn't stay here anymore, but he didn't want to. Which way should he go? To the right? Where that _thing_ likely was? He thought not. Left, then.

Loki limped to the door with the aid of a wall and peeked out. To his right was the way back to the foyer, but he didn't know what lay to the left. It was also too dark to see in that direction. Despite his fear of what might lay in the dark, he quickly made his way to the left, and attempted to stay as quiet as possible.

The house was quiet once again, and it was far more unnerving than hearing people screaming. And where had Grimur gone again? He hadn't seen him since he'd run. Perhaps the man was back in his room, gibbering madly to himself. Loki could only hope.

Despite his desperation, Loki couldn't move fast enough. And...he didn't want to turn around. Because what if he saw something there? But the further he went, the more difficult it became to move; his leg hurt terribly and his breathing was clipped and erratic, and he was sure he was leaving another trail of blood. He really didn't want to look down to check, though.

He came to a closed door which was slightly ajar- although it was too dark to see clearly what the room was. No matter, it wasn't so dark that he couldn't make his way through it. He slipped inside as quietly as he could and was relieved to see another door on the opposite end. He quickly closed the door behind him, then avoided the numerous tables and chairs spread across the floor.

Halfway across the room, his leg slipped and he nearly fell, although he caught himself on a small table, which must have been some sort of game-table as he felt and heard the pieces falling to the floor.

A sudden memory ran through Loki, then a sharp horror. But, as he stood transfixed by the table at his hands, he heard the slow but short-lived creak of the door behind him. Every fiber pulled taut by fear, he nonetheless forced himself to turn, his body rigid against the table.

_Breathe, breathe..._

The door was barely a crack open. Loki squinted in the dark, and was _sure_ he saw the pale fingers of one hand slowly grasp along the lower half of the door. He didn't know what to do; he couldn't move. He was trembling in his bloodied boots and couldn't help but _wait_, unable to muster the courage to move. He waited a long moment as he stared. When his eyes began to water, he blinked furiously, then, seeing the fingers disappeared, wondered if he'd seen them at all.

_Move now. It doesn't see you yet. It's gone. Get to the other door. Now._

But it didn't matter, because the door burst open, causing Loki to jump, revealing a wide-eyed, sweat-soaked Grimur who all but stumbled in.

Grimur bounded toward him, and Loki barely snapped back to himself before he realized he was in danger and that he should _run_. The man jumped at him but missed when Loki stumbled passed the now overturned game table. He scrambled for the far door, but his injured leg caught on something and he couldn't help but fall. _Get up, damn you!_ Ignoring his body's protests, he made it to his feet, but not before Grimur tackled him back down again.

"You can't get away!" the madman screamed. "You'll do... Yes, you'll do, and I'll be spared again!"

The prince tried to get the other off, but the madman shook him violently with both hands, jarring Loki to his bones. He gripped his collar and continued to yank him about, up and down, causing the prince to hit his head on the floor. What was he even trying to do? He didn't seem to have a purpose other than random violence.

With his uninjured leg, Loki tried to kick the man away several times, but he kept returning, desperate madness seeping from his very being.

Grimur screamed for no apparent reason, lost in his madness. He grabbed and shook Loki violently again, then struck him across the head. The attempt was feeble and Loki managed to throw him off. It was pointless, though, as he kept returning, his eyes wild and his scraggly hair falling on the prince. Yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, Loki recognized a strange metal pendant that hung from around the man's neck. The trickster wouldn't have noticed, except the amulet gave him a strange sensation when it was near. Without the time, or the caring, to figure it out further, he again threw the man off only to come face-to-face with a wall of dark hair and gnarled hands braced against the floor.

Loki screamed. He screamed and couldn't care less when Grimur fell on him again, because all he could see was the _thing_ coming toward them. "_Get off me!_" he screamed, but the man didn't seem to hear. He _did_, however, turn his head to the approaching creature.

Grimur, too, screamed. "No! No! _Not me not me not me_...Not here for _me_," he muttered quickly and stumbled off the prince, then backed away on his hands until he reached a wall. He continued to mumble under his breath as he clutched something against his chest.

The thing moved toward Loki, pale hands grabbing at the floor as it slid. Frozen in fright, Loki _couldn't move_. He couldn't even make a sound now as the thing pushed toward him, slowly but certainly.

_Move. Move. Move now. Move now!_ The only thing that responded was the trembling of his body.

He heard Grimur scramble to his feet as he made for the second door. _No!_ Loki wanted to scream, _D__on't leave me!_ But when the man opened it, something crashed through from the other side, nearly felling Grimur.

The sudden commotion made Loki turn his head. At first he was frightened of this new thing, with bloodied hair and body, but then he realized it was _Thor_ when the thunder god's face peeked out from behind his unkempt hair.

"Loki!" he shouted, but when he spotted Grimur trying to run he grabbed at him- to which Grimur responded with a violent fury that seemed to take Thor aback.

"_Not me, no!_" screamed Grimur. "She'll not take me! _Get off!_" But Thor wasn't letting go. The two struggled for a moment; Thor far stronger, but Grimur with a desperate determination that was giving him some advantage, however small- and however brief. The two crashed to the floor near Loki, with Thor on top.

"Brother, run!" Thor yelled, but Loki was too busy backing away from the still-approaching creature, his body numb to all else. He couldn't _speak_, couldn't plead with his brother to _get us out of here!_

Grimur screamed- his madness and fear nearly palpable. He was so close to Loki, close enough to see the creature approaching. Then suddenly _Thor_ saw it as well.

"By the Norns, _what is that_?!" Startled, Thor abruptly let go of Grimur.

Then Loki saw it. The pendant. It gleamed red in the scant light. _He was clutching it earlier_... as if it might somehow save him. Loki didn't know why exactly, couldn't explain if he tried, but he had the overwhelming urge suddenly to rip the amulet from the man. So he did, and Grimur screeched like he'd just had a limb stolen.

"_Give it back!_" he wailed as he tried to grab for it.

Then suddenly the _thing_ turned to Grimur, as if Loki had never been there.

"Brother," Loki all but whispered. "Help me, I-I can't move!"

Thor blinked wildly and stared at the creature, unmoving.

"_Brother!_" screamed Loki, which succeeded in breaking the thunderer out of his stupor. To Loki's relief, Thor jumped to his feet and scooped him up while the creature's attention remained on Grimur. He then quickly made for the door to the foyer. Loki didn't dare turn.

But they heard Grimur scream: "No! _No!_ She can't have me, _she can't!_ She came for you! For you! They're supposed to take _all of you_, not me!" But his mad ramblings were lost as Thor ran for the front door.

When they reached the foyer, they heard a scream that stopped Thor in his tracks. First, a woman's high-pitched scream seemed to permeate the very air, and next, Grimur's scream, which echoed down the corridor from where they'd left.

"What was that," Thor whispered as his hand lingered on the door handle.

Loki stared over Thor's shoulder with wide eyes. "I...I don't know."

Thor didn't linger any longer, he ripped open the door- nearly enough to break it from its hinges -as he bounded across the gray grass.

The younger prince didn't know why, but he _knew _the way would be open. He clutched the pendant in his hands and watched the house slowly fade, as it was replaced by thick leaves. Briefly, he wondered why even Thor knew that they could leave now, but he didn't question it. Whatever had happened in that house happened because of _Grimur_, he knew that now; perhaps Thor somehow knew, too.

.

The All-father personally retrieved his sons, the Bifrost beam scouring the ground and leaving scorched earth where it lay its tell-tale mark.

Loki had allowed Thor to carry him through the woods even long after they'd left the house, mostly because he was too lost in a daze to remember he _was_ being carried, nor that he was injured. Thor didn't seem to notice either. They had wandered through the thick trees aimlessly and spoken only once, when the younger prince asked the elder why he was so bloody, and how he had escaped the well. Grimur had apparently tried to _kill_ the thunderer by throwing every sharp object he could find- or create -down into the well. Thor had been cut, but little else. Worry growing for his little brother, he had then attempted to climb out, only to find a long length of cloth that had been lowered to aid him.

The younger prince had numbly acknowledged that he'd done that, as if he'd forgotten.

"Thor...Loki?" Odin moved quickly to them, Gungnir in hand, surrounded by half a dozen Einherjar. "My sons, we could not reach you- Heimdall could not even see you. We searched for days."

Thor nodded and Loki stared at nothing.

"My sons? Thor...what has happened-" His one eye caught on the glint of metal in Loki's hand. He slowly reached for it and took it from his son's unresisting hand. "Where did you get this?"

As Loki had not heard the king, Thor whispered to the younger, "_Brother_. Father is here."

Loki blinked and nearly flinched. "What?"

"Father is here, he asked where you obtained the amulet," Thor said in a dull voice. Too dull for him. Apparently he hadn't seen what had happened at the end.

"The madman," Loki mumbled in answer, his voice distant, his eyes drifting to match.

Odin frowned. A moment passed as he stared at his sons, but soon he waved them closer so they could leave. The guards moved to follow, surrounding the royal family.

"Father," began Thor as he moved inside the burned circle, "what is that trinket?"

His father looked at it, but looked distant. "A protective charm, and no mere trinket. Very old. I'm not surprised Loki was interested in it; he's always had an eye for such things." There was a long pause. Odin didn't call for the Gatekeeper yet. He spoke softly as he patted Thor on the shoulder, "We'll speak soon. But first, your brother needs aid."

Thor nodded absently, then held tighter to his younger brother. "All will be well, Loki," he murmured quietly, repeating the words he'd said so many times before. But, finally, it was the truth.

All will be well. _All will be well._

Loki wondered if that creature still wandered the shadowed halls of that house. He wondered if, perhaps, now Grimur did, too.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The End<strong>_

**A/N: Yes, that's right, I straight-up wrote a ghost story! Woo-hoo! I don't know why that should excite me so.**

**Hope you guys liked this, I certainly had fun with it. :D Aaand I suddenly realized why Thor is always carrying Loki at the end of my fics. I'm apparently incapable of _not_ mangling poor Loki's leg(s) in some way (or something equally horrible).**

**Sorry about any confusion as to what's up with that house, feel free to ask (although you probably guessed already). And if you guessed: it's all in Loki's head! or Thor and Loki were ghosts all along! you'd be totally wrong. Silly you. Where would you get such ideas?**

**Completely irrelevant A/N: I was myth!Hel for Halloween. Yeah, like I'm dressing up in that crazy get-up comic book Hela wears. (Yipes) Not even remotely likely. (Nor am I growing six feet taller any time soon. Har.)**


End file.
